Leuchtenburg said recently that some scholars have known about Truman's racist utterances since his letters were opened. "But somehow," Leuchtenburg said, "this has not permeated the public consciousness."

We'll never know if Truman's attitudes toward minorities -- including his comment in 1911 to Bess that he hated "Japs" -- influenced his decision to drop two atomic bombs at a point when the Japanese were already militarily devastated and seeking acceptable surrender terms. -Peter J. Kuznick